Shuttle changer for fabric loom



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April 25, 1961 H. J. SMILEY ETAL SHUTTLE CHANGER FOR FABRIC LOOM l4 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 10, 1959 HHHHU I I I I April 1961 H. J. SMILEY ETAL 2,981,294

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April 25, 1961 H. .1. SMILEY ETAL 2,981,294

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SHUTTLE CHANGER FoR FABRIC LooM Filed Dec. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 858,790

15 Claims. (Cl. 139-239) This invention relates to looms for weaving textile fabrics and more particularly to an improved automatic shuttle changer especially adapted to be used on broad carpet looms.

For many years efforts have been made to design practical shuttle changing equipment for pile carpet looms. Shuttle changers of one variety or another have been developed with more or less success for narrow flat fabric looms. Insofar as we know, however, all attempts to adapt an automatic shuttle changing mechanism to a broad Wilton or velvet pile fabric loom capable of weaving carpets up to 18' in width have been unsuccessful. At the present time there is no supplier of broad carpet looms who furnishes equipment for automatically changing or replacing the shuttle when the filling cop is empty.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an automatic shuttle changer for a broad carpet loom which is efiicient in its operation and which does not require more stopping of the loom than is the case when the shuttle is manually changed by the Weaver.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a pile fabric loom an automatic shuttle changer which replaces the shuttle and the filling cop without interrupting or slowing down the operation of the loom.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a broad carpet loom a detecting element at one side of the loom for sensing the need for filling replacement, and mechanism at the other side of the loom energized by the detecting means for positioning a replacement shuttle immediately in front of the loom picker after the exhausted shuttle has been ejected.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an automatic shuttle changer for a broad carpet loom a feed plate for the shuttle box which is automatically displaced in response to a signal, means for supplying a fresh shuttle to the feed plate, and a false bottom for the shuttle box which carries the exhausted shuttle over the feed plate to a suitable catcher or receiver.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stationary magazine adjacent one side of a broad carpet loom to receive a plurality of filling shuttles together with means for retaining and properly severing an end of the filling in each shuttle after the shuttles have been individually positioned in the shuttle box of the lay.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a broad carpet loom a lateral extension of the lay which carries a displaceable feed plate forming the bottom of the shuttle box and means for selectively raising and lowering the picker stick and picker to permit the ejection of an exhausted shuttle.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an automatic shuttle changer for a broad carpet loom, sequentially actuated mechanism for feeding a new shuttle, displacing the picker and picker stick to permit the ejection of an old shuttle, control means for the shuttle box swell to render it inoperative during the ejection of the old shuttle, and automatic cutter means for severing both the old and new filling wefts in timed relation to the ejection and insertion of the shuttles.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a front view of one end of the lay of a carpet loom showing an automatic shuttle changer constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a top view of the structure of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an end view of the structure of Fig. 2 with the shuttle receiver removed,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the lay pivoted to its back center position,

Fig. 5 is a section as seen at 5-5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 6-6 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view partly sectioned of the shuttle receiver and brake,

Fig. 8 is a top view partly sectioned of the structure of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 9-9 of Fig. 7,

Fig. 10 is a top view of a part of the opposite side of the loom showing the shuttle in the righthand shuttle box and the filling detector mechanism,

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section as seen at 11-11 of Fig. 10 and showing the lay in both the back and front center positions,

Fig. 12 is a perspective of the shuttle used in a broad carpet loom,

Fig. 13 is a sectional detail as seen at 13-13 of Fig. 12 showing the manner for threading the end of the filling weft through the shuttle,

Fig. 14 is a sectional detail of the shuttle magazine and the filling tail anchor,

Fig. 15 is a perspective showing one of the sliding rings to which the filling tail of each shuttle is secured,

Fig. 16 is an enlarged detail of the shuttle box shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 17 is a sectional detail as seen at 17-17 of Fig. 16,

Fig. 18 is a perspective of the picker operating shoe,

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary portion of Fig. 16 with the picker stick and feed plate in a moved position during the ejection of a shuttle,

Fig. 20 is a sectional view as seen at 20-20 of Fig. 19,

Fig. 21 is a sectional detail as seen at 21-21 of Fig. 19,

Fig. 22 is a perspective of the back guide shown in Fig. 21,

Fig. 23 is a perspective of the feed plate shown in Fig. 16,

Fig. 24 is a perspective showing the opposite side of the lefthand end of the feed plate,

Fig. 25 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 25-25 of Fig. 16,

Fig. 26 is a perspective showing the feed cam of Fig. 25,

Fig. 27 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 27-27 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 28 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 28-28 of Fig. 2 but with the lay shown in the back center position,

Fig. 29 is an enlarged perspectiveof the shuttle release mechanism at the bottom of the magazine of Fig. 28,

Fig. 30 is a fragmentary sectional detail of the bottom of the shuttle magazine as seen at 30-30 of Fig. 28,

Fig. 31 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 31-31 of Fig. 29,

Fig. 32 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 32-32 of Fig. 31,

Fig. 33 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 33-33 of Fig. 31,

Fig. 34 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 34-34 of Fig. 31,

Fig. 35 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 35-35 of Fig. 31,

Fig. 36 is a fragmentary sectionaldetail as seen at 3636 of Fig. 31,

Fig. 37 is a perspective of the shuttle transfer plate,

Fig. 38 is a view similar to Fig. 28 with the lay in the front center position,

Fig. 39 shows the structure of Fig. 38 with the lay in the back center position and the feed plate lowered to permit reception of a new shuttle,

Fig. 40 shows the structure of Figs. 38 and 39 with the new shuttle being inserted on the feed plate by the shuttle transfer plate,

Fig. 41 is an enlarged sectional detail of the filling cutter as seen at 41-41 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 42 is a top view of the structure of Fig. 41 as seen at 42-42,

Fig. 43 is a view of the lower part of the structure of Fig. 41 with the mechanism in a moved position,

Fig. 44 is a section as seen at 44-44 of Fig. 43,

Fig. 45 is a schematic timing diagram showing the sequence of operation of the various elements of the shuttle changer,

Fig. 46 shows the various electrical and fluid connections between the actuating elements of the mechanism, and

Fig. 47 is a schematic View showing the fluid connections for the fluid actuated pistons.

The invention comprises essentially the provision of a vertically displaceable feed plate which forms the bottom of the lefthand shuttle box in the loom; When the lay is in a front center position, the feed plate is actuated by an air cylinder to lower the feed plate and permit a new shuttle to be deposited on the feed plate from a transfer plate which carries the new shuttle from the bottom of a magazine to the feed plate. Simultaneously with the lowering of the feed plate, a false bottom moves into position in the 'lefthand shuttle box and both the picker and picker stick are lowered so that on the next righthand pick the exhausted shuttle is carried across the false bottom, over the top of the picker and picker stick, and into a brake and shuttle catcher. As soon as the old shuttle has been ejected, the picker and picker stick are elevated together with the feed plate to position the fresh shuttle directly in front of and against the picker in the shuttle box. An overriding control for the swell maintains it in an inoperative position to permit the old shuttle to pass readily out through the end of the shuttle box. An automatic cutter positioned near the selv'age of the fabric is actuated by suitable linkage to sever the old filling after the exhausted shuttle passes and, also, to sever the tail of the filling from the new shuttle which is held by a suitable device during the insertion of the new shuttle in the shuttle box. The shuttles are provided with suitable apertures at one end thereof through which a beam of light projected from a light source can impinge on a photoelectric cell to energize the cell only when the amount of filling on the cop in the shuttle has been reduced beyond a predetermined amount, thus permitting passage of the light beam. The light beam and the photoelectric cell are positioned on the right side of the loom and the light source is triggered when the shuttle is in the righthand shuttle box. It will be understood that the shuttle changer described herein is shown on the lefthand side of the loom because this location causes the least interference with the wire motion. There is no inherent reason, however, why the shuttle changer cannot be used on either side of the 100m or on the right side if a lefthand wire motion is used, and the improved shuttle changer described herein may, also, be used on other types of looms which may not necessarily be adapted to weave pile fabrics.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a carpet loom to which the present invention is applied is provided with the usual structure, most of which is not illustrated herein in the interest of brevity. As is customary, however, in shuttle looms for weaving Wilton, velvet, and tapestry fabrics, an oscillating beam or lay 50 is journaled on a shaft 51 by means of the lay swords 52 and 53 mounted on bearings 54. The woven fabric F is carried over a pin take-up roll 55. The lay 50 oscillates from a front center position to a back center position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to beat up filling shots or wefts into the tell of the fabric F as it is being woven. The pile warps are indicated generally at 57 in Figs. 2 and 41 and the ground warps are indicated generally at 58 in Fig. 41. The pile warps are woven in a predetermined sequence over a series of pile wires 59 which are inserted and withdrawn individually from the right side of the loom by the standard wire motion, not shown. One of a series of shuttles 60 is'passed back and forth across the lay when it is substantially in its back center position to weave the filling weft back and forth through the warp shed. Such a loom as described above is provided with a pair of pick-er sticks, the lefthand one of which is shown at 65 and the righthand picker stick 66 appears in Fig. 10 together with its associated picker 67. The irighthand picker and picker stick of Fig. 10

are of entirely conventional construction and are actu- The-present automatic shuttle changer has been incorporated on the lefthand side of the loom and comprises a lateral extension of the lay as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and is positioned to register with a shuttle magazine 70 when in the front center position. The lay extension which also includes the lefthand shuttle box is journaled on a pair of vertical supports 71 and 72 provided with bearings 73 and 74 for a countershaft 75 which is in alignment with the main lay shaft 51. An auxiliary sword 76 supports the outward terminus of the shuttle box or lay extension as will be seen in Fig. 1. In order to accommodate the various mechanisms for actuating the modified shuttle box and its associated members, we provide a substantially rectangular framework 80 (Fig. 5) having welded collars 81 and 82 which are keyed or pinned at 83 and 84 to the countershaft 75. Framework 80 carries two stationary cross shafts 85 and 85a, the

latter of which journals a sleeve 86 connected to a fluid cylinder 87 mounted underneath the frame 80. An adjustable link 88 is pivoted at 89 to a lever 90 on sleeve 86. At the other end, link 88 is pivoted at 91 to the piston rod 92 of cylinder 87. Shaft 85a is pinned in frame 80 at 93, 93 and also carries a fixed spacing collar 94 for sleeve 86 which is in turn provided with a long arm or lever 95 connected to and supporting the picker stick 65 through a pin 96 journaled in the bottom of the picker stick. It will thus be seen that when air cylinder 87 is actuated to turn sleeve 86, the picker stick 65 can be raised and lowered vertically. The raised position of the top of picker stick 65 is indicated in Figure 16 and the lowered position is shown in Figure 19. In accordance with the usual practice, the picker stick is snapped by means of a leather picking strap 97 held centrally on the picking stick by means of a loop 98.

Modified picker and stick The conventional picker 100 (Fig. 16) is provided with an aperture which surrounds the top of the picker stick 65 and which has a notch or recess at its forward surface to accommodate the tip of the shuttle 60. Since both the picker stick and the picker must be moved to a clear position so that the exhausted shutter can be ejected past the picker, we provide a bifurcated table 101 on which the picker normally rests. The table 101 is constructed to move vertically on ways 102 and 103- which engage respectively with the dovetail slots 104 and 105 on the table. The vertical movement of the table 101 is controlled through an integrally-formed leg 106 which is pivoted to a link 107 at 108 (Fig. 17). The other end of link 107 is pivoted at 109 to a lever 110 which is formed integrally with a sleeve 111 journaled on shaft 85, the latter being anchored in frame 80 at 112, 112. A second lever 113 on sleeve 111 is connected to a lever 116 by means of a link 117 and the lever 116 is formed integrally with sleeve 86. It will, therefore, be understood that movement of sleeve 86 not only controls the vertical position of the picker stick 65', but also of the picker 100 through the levers on sleeve 111 and link 107. The table 101 is also provided with an inverted L-shaped cap 128 which, in effect, forms a guide or track across the top of which the ejected shuttle passes when the table 101 is lowered to the position of Fig. 19.

Modified shuttle box Referring now to Figure 2, the lefthand shuttle box of the loom is formed of a movable swell 125, a bottom 126 (Fig. 38), which is actually the feed plate for the new shuttle, and a fixed side plate 127 which extends to the right as seen in Figure 2 and terminates in a curved guide surface 128. The member 127 is desirably formed from angle iron and is secured to the lay by means of bolts 129, 129. The top plate 130 of the shuttle box is mounted on the lay element 131, as shown in Figs. 38 and 40, and supports a pair of air cylinders 132 and 133 having pistons 134 which support and actuate a false bottom 135 by means of supporting elements 136. The false bottom 135 is moved into position by cylinders 132 adn 133 as shown in Figure 40 to prevent undesired dropping of the exhausted shuttle and to provide a guide or track for ejecting this shuttle from the shuttle box. When the false bottom 135 is moved into position to permit ejection of a used shuttle (Fig. 40), it is in horizontal alignment with the top 120 of table 101. In the shuttle ejecting position, as seen also in Fig. 19', the false bottom 135 provides a clear passageway between the top 130 of the shuttle box and the false bottom for the exhausted shuttle to escape into the shuttle catcher.

Feed plate The feed plate 126 (Figs. 16 and 23) is elevated and retracted on a pair of diagonal ways 138 and 139. These ways dovetail with suitable grooves 140 and 142 in lay element 131. Vertical control feed plate 126 is provided through an ear 143 secured to the bottom of the feed plate and rigidly connected to a rod 144 which is in turn an extension of the piston of air cylinder 145. In practice the feed plate 126 is normally in its raised position shown in Fig. 38 in which it forms or replaces the normal bottom for the shuttle box and on which the shuttle alternately rests before it is projected across the loom by the snapping of picker stick 65.

The swell 125 for the shuttle box is normally actuated in timed relation to the movement of the lay by means of a shaft 149 supported in brackets 150 one of which is shown in Figs. 16 and 27 having a lever 151 and connected to a shaft 152 on the opposite side of lay element 131 by means of lever 153 and link 154. The swell is mechanically pivoted to engage and lock the shuttle in the lefthand shuttle box during normal operation and to release the shuttle just before the lefthaiid pick. When it becomes time to replenish an exhausted shuttle, however, it is necessary to maintain the swell in the normally released position and this is accomplished by means of an air cylinder 155 (Fig. 1) mounted on a bracket 156 secured to frame 80. Air cylinder 155 is connected to shaft 152 through a link 157 having a slotted terminus 158 (Fig. 27) connected to lever 159 to pro vide limited overtravel. The slotted terminus 158 permits normal operation of swell 125 by means of shaft 152 without interference from the cylinder 155. However, when cylinder 155 is actuated, the control of the swell contact lever 160 by means of shaft 149 is overridden to maintain the swell 125 in its open position such as shown for example in Figs. 39 and 40. Shaft 152 to which both control lever 160 and lever 159 are keyed *8 is journaled in a series of brackets 161, 161 secured to lay element 131. The fixed shuttle guide or raceway 165 is also shown in Figs. 27 and 25 and this element forms a rigid extension of the lay to carry the shuttle from the fabric into the shuttle box. Since the shuttle is non rectangular in cross section, a tapered wedge 166 is placed between the side guide 127 and the bottom guide 165 and this forms an angled top surface for the guide.

Exhausted shuttle receiver When an exhausted shuttle is ejected, as shown in Fig. 19, it travels to the left and completely out of the shuttle box to be received in the shuttle brake or catcher 170 (Figs. 6-9). A generally square-shaped funnel is horizontally positioned in alignment with the shuttle box when it is in a substantially pivoted back position. The receiver has a bill or funnel-shaped mouth 171 which connects with a passage 172 terminating in a series of friction baffles 173, 173 comprising bendable flaps mounted on the outside of the passage walls by means of setscrews 174, 174 (Fig. 9). These baffles 173 decelerate the shuttle substantially so that when the tip of the shuttle strikes the bumper 175, its speed is substantially reduced. The bumper 175-, however, is secured in a U-shaped bracket 176 by means of bolts 177, 177 and the bracket 176 is in turn and resiliently mounted at the end of funnel 172 by means of spring loaded bolts 178 having compression springs 179 which bias the bracket to further absorb the impact of the shuttle. A cushioned deflector 180 is mounted directly underneath 'the bracket 176 so that the shuttles, after complete Shuttle magazine and transfer mechanism We provide a magazine 70/ in which shuttles with full cops are stacked by the weaver in readiness for supplying to the loom. The magazine as seen in Fig. 2 comprises a pair of special shaped end channel members 191 and 192 having the flanges thereof bent at an angle to carefully position and control the shuttles laterally and longitudinally. The channels 191 and 192 are secured to a cross member 193 which also supports a central flap guide 194 all of which are mounted on the stationary vertical posts 195 and 196 (Fig. l). The supply or stack of shuttles 60* is supported in the magazine by means of a pair of oscillating slides 197 and 198 which are guided on rollers 199 and 200 respectively (Figs. 28 and 29). The outer ends of slides 197 and 198 are pivoted to the ends of a spring loaded walking beam 281 which is keyed to a shaft 202 journaled in brackets 283, 283. A spring 204 biases in a clockwise direction the walking beam as shown in Fig. 28. When the upper bar of slide 197, 197 is advanced into the shuttle magazine as shown in Figs. 28 and 2.9, the bottom shuttle in the stack rests at each end on the slides 197. Shaft 202 also carries a long actuating lever 205 which serves to oscillate the walking beams 20 1 when a fresh shuttle is delivered to the shuttle box so that upper slides 197, 197 are retracted and lower slides 198, 198 are projected into the magazine so that the stack of shuttles drops onto slides 198, 198 and rests thereon until the walking beams 201 are reversed. At this time the bottom shuttle is deposited on the shuttle transfer plate 210 as shown in Fig. 28.

The transfer mechanism for delivering the shuttle just deposited on the transfer plate 210 to the top of feed to prevent damage to the wooden shuttles when dropped thereon. The back of the plate comprises a vertical wall 213 to which a pair of plungers 214, 214 are attached. These plungers are mounted in a channel 215 having upright flanges 215a and 2151: under bias of compression springs 216, 216 which permit relative resilient movement of the transfer plate 210 with respect to its carriage assembly 217. Vertical wall 213 of the transfer plate is extended laterally and supports at either end a pair of saddles 210a and 2101) having upwardly turned faces which serve to center the shuttle on the plate 210. The carriage assembly 217 is mounted on rollers 218, 218 secured in the stationary framework 219 by means of studs and nuts 220, 220. The underside of carriage 217 is provided with a rack 221 which meshes with a pinion 222 keyed to a jack shaft 223 journaled on bearings 224 and 225 on framework 2119 (Figs. 35 and 36). The opposite end of shaft 223 carries a smaller pinion 226 which meshes with a rack 227 formed integrally with a slide 228 journaled on rollers 229, 229 mounted in frame members 230, 230 by means of pins and nuts 231, 231. The slide 228 (Fig. 32) is provided with an extension 232 which is slidable in an olfset guide 233 secured to frame member 196. A limit collar 234 is pinned to the outboard end of extension 232 and the slide 228 is biased between the guide 233 and a collar 235 on the slide by means of compression spring 236. The offset end of the slide 228 carries an abutment 237 terminating in a bar 238 which is in alignment with a grooved pad 239 on the underside of the feed plate 126 when the feed plate is in its retracted or lowered position shown in broken lines in Fig. 16. It will be understood that cylinder 145 is actuated at the proper time to retract the feed plate 126. This positions the pad 239 in alignment with the bar 238. Displacement of the slide 228 to the right as shown in Figs. 32 and 34 turns shaft 223 to quickly advance the transfer plate 210 and deposit the new shuttle on the top of the feed plate 126. A pair of spring loaded latches 245, 245 pivoted at 246, and each provided with an adjustable limit stop 247 and compression spring 248, are displaced upwardly as the new shuttle is inserted. As soon as the shuttle clears the bent up inner termini 249 of the latches, they snap down to insure that the shuttle 60 is removed from the transfer plate and remains on top of the feed plate 126 when the transfer plate retracts. The above de posit of the new shuttle on the feed plate 126 occurs substantially when the lay is in the front center position shown in Figure 40. When the lay oscillates away from the front center position, pad 239 in turn is withdrawn from contact with the bar 238 which permits the transfer plate and slide to retract under urging of spring 236. During this retraction of the carrier a strike 255 contacts lever 205 and reverses the walking beams 201 through the agency of shaft 202. This permits the bottom shuttle of the stack in magazine 190 to drop onto the transfer plate 210 as shown in Fig. 28 in readiness for the delivery of the next new shuttle New shuttle delivery mechanism After the above operation has been completed, the feed plate 126 again elevates to deposit the new shuttle in the shuttle box. Meanwhile, however, false bottom 1.35 has been restored to its normal operating position shown in Fig. 38 because the previously exhausted shuttle has been ejected. It is important, however, that the new shuttle be accurately and properly positioned in the shuttle box to avoid a faulty pick. The mechanism for accomplishing this result is best seen in Figures 16 and 1925. With the newly deposited shuttle in the position shown in broken lines on the feed plate in Fig. 16, the endwise centering of the shuttle on the feed plate is accomplished by means of a back guide 256 and a front guide 257 (Figs. 21 and 22). These guides are secured to theshuttle box frame members 131 and 259 by means of capscrews 260, 260. The opposite end of the shuttle is controlled by means of a feed cam 261 (Fig. 26) having a flange 262 to which it is secured under the shuttle box to the regular shuttle race 165 by means of capscrews 263 (Fig. 16). The undcrsurface 264 of the feed cam 261 accurately controls the positioning of the shuttle as the feed plate 126 elevates. First of all the feed cam surface 264 maintains the lefthand tip in Fig. 16 of the shuttle in contact with the back guide 256 and the front guide 257. It is important, however, that the tip 270 of the shuttle be securely fitted into the notch in the picker 100. The length and contour of the cam surface 264 accomplishes this result since the tip of this surface is so positioned with respect to the picker that as the shuttle clears the tip of the cam, the tip 270 of the shuttle is snugly deposited into the notch of the picker 100. Thus, with the feed plate 126 fully elevated to form the bottom of the shuttle box and the false bottom retracted, the new shuttle is in place and ready for the next lefthand pick. Particular attention is directed to the angular path of movement of the feed plate 126 which is approximately 45 from the vertical. Vertical movement of the plate would not permit the proper and accurate positioning of the new shuttle against the picker, and it is therefore of considerable importance to bring the new shuttle in partially from the side, so that with the use of the cammed surfaces 7 and guides mentioned above, the new shuttle is properly that the tail271 of the filling from each cop 182 in the shuttle is carried through an eye 273 in the shuttle and is snubbed around the ears 274, 274 of a slider 275 (Fig. 15) which has a keyhole-shaped aperture 276. A series of these sliders 275 are installed on a slider bar 277 .by slipping them over two flats 278 on the bar. Each slider is then engaged with the filling tail 271 from each of the shuttles 60, 60 in the magazine 70. The automatic filling cutter shown in Figs. 41-44 comprises a scissors device 280 mounted on a bracket 281 secured to loom frame member 282. The lower fixed cutter blade 283 has a V shaped notch 284 for guiding the filling tail against the lower sharpened edge of blade 283. The upper pivoting blade 285 is biased by means of an extension spring 286 and is cyclically actuated by means of a push rod 287 which seats in a socket 288 of the blade 285. An arcuate guide 289' serves to retain the rod 287 in place and also permits manual actuation of the cutter when desired. The lower end of rod 287 is pivoted to one arm of a bell crank 290 which is in turn mounted on frame bracket 291. The other arm of bell crank 290 carries a flat strike plate 292 which is selectively contacted by a spring biased pivoted push rod 293 mounted on bracket 294 secured to the lay sword 52. The push rod 293 is normally biased in a position shown in Fig. 41 by a fiy spring 295 so that it does not contact strike 292 to actuate the cutter. A solenoid 300 is secured to bracket 301 and is provided with an armature 302 which may be selectively extended to pivot a spring biased rocker arm 303 to the position shown in Fig. 43. Rocker arm 303 also has a strike 304 which is contacted by push rod 293 when the lay approaches the front center position and thereby deflects the push rod upwardly so that it in turn contacts strike 292 on bell crank 290, thus elevating push rod 287 and actuating the cutter. Rocker arm 303 is spring biased at 305 and pivoted in a bracket at 306. Legs 307 and 308 serve as limit stops for the pivoting action of the arm. It will be noted that the cutter is positioned in close proximity to the lefthand selvage of fabric F and in line with the fell so that there is a minimum of trimming required when shuttles are changed.

Low filling detector The triggering element for initiating the various m0- tions previously described is located on the righthand side of the loom and is seen in Figures and 11. The righthand shuttle box as seen in Figure 10 is generally conventional in nature and comprises a swell control 310, front guide 311, the usual shuttle race or bottom 312, and swell 313. The lay also carries the conventional reed 314 and is otherwise of standard construction. The wire rail 315 is mounted on loom frame member 316 and supports a light sensitive cell 317 which is positioned below the transverse outer line of shuttle 60 and in line with a light source 318 supported on a bracket assembly 319 in turn secured to loo-m frame member 320. Each shuttle is apertured at 321 so that, as the filling cop 182 is depleted, the absence of filling through apertures 321 permits a beam of light from source 318 to energize photocell 317. The righthand shuttle box has a forward wall 311 which is suitably apertured at 322 in line with the path of the light beam from source 318. The opposite side 323 of the shuttle box is slotted to receive the conventional swell 313. The swell is apertured at 324 to permit passage of the light beam in line with the apertures 321 in the shuttle. It will be apparent that when the shuttle is seated in the shuttle box, light from source 318 does not impinge on cell 317 unless the cop 182 in the shuttle is ready for replenishment. If the cell 317 is not energized as described above, the loom continues to operate in the usual manner making successive right and left picks.

Operation and timing cycle The operation of the automatic shuttle changer described above can best be understood by referring to Figs. 45-47. The loom is equipped with a main motor 325 which is connected to a source of electrical current 326 through a relay 327 and suitable switches 328 and 329 (Fig. 46). The current for actuating the various parts of the shuttle changer is tapped from the motor leads through transformer 330 and leads 331 and 332. Lead 331 is carried directly to the armature 333 of relay 334 through lead 335. Lead 332 is carried to the other side of armature 333 through the sensing switch 336 which is connected in series with the photocell 317. Light source 318 is connected across leads 335 and 332. It will, therefore, be understood that whenever cell 317 is energized by a beam of light from source 318 due to an exhausted filling cop in the shuttle, the circuit is closed to armature 333, thus actuating relay 334, closing contacts 337, and contacts 338. For this purpose lead 339 connects the switch 336 and cell 317 to armature 333. Contacts 337 constitute a holding circuit for the relay 334 so that armature 333 is held energized after the photocell 317 becomes de-energized. However, the holding circuit is effective only during the time that the cam 340 holds switch 341 closed. When cam 340 opens switch 341, the holding circuit is broken thereby de-conditioning the circuit. Switch 341 is connected to contacts 337 through lead 342 and contacts 338 through leads 343. Lead 370 connects to lead 343 at 344.

Referring now to Fig. 45, it will be assumed that the loom has been operating in the normal manner with a full filling cop in the shuttle. As the filling becomes depleted, there will be a lefthand pick which projects the shuttle into the righthand shuttle box at such a time that there will be suflicient filling weft on the cop 182 to cut off transmission of light from source 318 to cell 317. This condition is shown at the upper righthand portion of Fig. 45 with the shuttle in the righthand shuttle box just before making the righthand pick. At the point indicated, master cam 349 cycles to close switch 341 if the filling in cop 182 has become exhausted. Shortly thereafter as indicated inthe diagram, photocell 317 is energized by a beam of light, thus closing contacts 337 and 338 of relay 334. As the lay oscillates towards its back center position, the shuttle is projected from the righthand box as indicated by the term RH pick in Fig. 45. The lay then reaches its full back center position designated Figure 28 in Fig. 45. The lay then oscillates forward to the beat-up position designated Figure 38. During the next backward oscillation of the lay the shuttle is projected from the lefthand shuttle box for the left hand pick. In the meantime, however, the various cams for timing the complete cycle shown in Fig. 46 are controlling sequence and timing of the shuttle change operation. These cams are reading from left to right, the master cam 346, the cycle cam 345, the cutter cam 346, the false bottom cam 347, the swell release earn 348, the picker and picker stick cam 349, and the feed plate cam 350. All of these cams are mounted on a common shaft 351 which is driven through deduction gears 352 and 353 from cam shaft 354. Each of the cams 345-350 controls solenoid valves in an airline to the air cylinders illustrated schematically in Fig. 47. The cams 340, 345350 actuate their respective switches through cam followers 340a, 345a-350a. Cam 346, however, actuates a switch 355 which directly actuates the cutter 280 through solenoid 300 without intermediate fluid control. Cam 347 closes a switch 356 which energizes solenoid 357 for valve 358 which permits fluid such as air to actuate the air cylinders 132 and 133 for the false bottom. Likewise cam 348 actuates a switch 360 which in turn energizes solenoid 361 to move an air valve 362 that delivers fluid to the swell release cylinder 155. Cam 349 controls switch 363 which in turn energizes solenoid 364 to actuate valve 365 delivering fluid to the picker control cylinder 87. Cam 350 actuates switch 366 to energize solenoid 367 which in turn controls valve 368 to deliver air to the feed plate cylinder 145. All of the solenoids 300, 357, 361, 364, and 367 are tapped into the return lead 370 connected to switch 341 controlled by the holding circuit cam 340.

Referring again now to Figs. 45, when the left hand pick occurs after Fig. 38, the lay oscillates to its back center position and the feed plate 126 retracts through actuation of valve 368 caused by the closing of switch 366. The lay then oscillates again to the front center positiondesignated Fig. 40 (Fig. 45) to mechanically deliver the new shuttle on top of the retracted feed plate. As the lay begins its backward oscillation, the picker and picker stick are retracted due to the operation of valve 365 by the closing of switch 363. As the lay continues to move towards its back center position on this portion of the cycle, the exhausted shuttle is projected from the right hand shuttle box to make the righthand pick. However,

at about the same time or at least before the exhausted shuttle travels across the lay, the false bottom 135 is positioned in the left hand shuttle box by operation of valve 362 due to the closing of switch 356. Then the swell release cylinder 155 is actuated by opening of valve 362 to hold the swell out of position in the shuttle box thereby preventing interference with the ejection of the exhausted shuttle. The exhausted shuttle then travels completely through the lefthand shuttle box and into the shuttle catcher funnel 171. This condition is shown in Fig. 10. The feed plate is elevated simultaneously with the picker stick and picker due to the opening of switches 366 and 363. The completion of this part of the cycle positions the new shuttle snugly against the picker, whereupon the swell is released to securely clamp the new shuttle due to the opening of switch 360. The false bottom is retracted due to opening of switch 356 to complete the exchange of shuttles. As the lay now reaches its next front center position designated Fig. 33 on Fig. 45, switch 355 is closed, thus energizing solenoid 300 to cut the filling that was carried from the effected shuttle. The lay then oscillates towards its back center position and the normal lefthand pick occurs before the back center position. On the next forward beat-up which is at the lower righthand corner of Fig. 45, switch 355 again controls solenoid 366 to out the tail of the filling in the new shuttle. This filling tail which is still connected to one of the rings 275 is later removed by the weaver before attaching the filling tail Y 11 of the next shuttle to be dropped into the shuttle magazine 190. The loom then continues its normal weaving operation until the filling in the new shuttle likewise becomes exhausted to the point that photocell 317 is again energized. n

It will be understood that we have provided completely efllcient and satisfactory automatic shuttle changers for a broad carpet loom having a wire motion at one side. With the exception of the exhausted filling detector, all of the mechanism is positioned on the lefthand side of the loom, thus producing a minimum of interference with the insertion and withdrawal of the pile wires. The new shuttle is accurately and properly positioned in front of the picker without slowing down or stopping the loom in any way so that the weaving operation continues uninterrupted. The invention requires a minimum of modification of existing weaving equipment and is, therefore, extremely eflicient and satisfactory in its operation.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. An automatic shuttle changer assembly for textile looms having an oscillating lay, which comprises a lateral extension for said lay, walls defining a shuttle box in said extension, a picker defining one end of the shuttle box, a picker stick operatively connected to the picker, means for lowering the picker and picker stick below the bottom plane of the shuttle box, a feed plate forming the normal bottom for the shuttle box, means for raising and lowering said feed plate, a false bottom movable transversely into said shuttle box to provide a guide for carrying an exhausted shuttle over the feed plate when it is lowered, means mounted on the loom for detecting an exhausted filling condition in a shuttle, and cyclically actuated means responsive to said detecting means for sequentially operating the picker and picker stick actuating means, the feed plate actuating means and the false bottom actuating means.

2. An automatic shuttle changer in accordance with claim 1 in which the detecting means comprises a light source and a photoelectric cell.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 having a second shuttle box on the lay opposite the extension, apertured lateral walls forming two sides of said second shuttle box, and a light source and light sensitive cell mounted on stationary loom structure to direct a beam of light through the apertured shuttle box walls from the source to the cell.

4. A control system for automatic shuttle changers for textile looms comprising a picker stick actuator, a feed plate actuator, a filling tail cutter, an actuator for said cutter, a false bottom for one of the shuttle boxes of the loom, an actuator for said false bottom, a cam shaft connected to the loom, a series of cams on said cam shaft, and a series of cam followers responsive to each of said cams for sequentially controlling each of said actuators.

5. Mechanism for transferring replacement shuttles from a shuttle magazine to a shuttle box on oscillating loom lay which comprises a transfer plate normally position'ed underneath the magazine, a rack connected to said transfer plate, a pinion meshing with said rack, a countershaft on which said pinion is mounted, a second pinion secured to said countershaft, a rack in mesh with said second pinion, a contact surface for said second rack, and means for selectively striking said contact surface on a beat-up of the lay when replacing a shuttle.

6. A shuttle changer for a textile loom having an oscillating lay across which a filling shuttle is successively projected comprising a shuttle box forming one end of the lay, a lay sword supporting said shuttle box, a framework in which said lay sword is journaled, a stationary shuttle catcher in alignment with said shuttle box when in a substantially beat-up position, a movable bottom for said shuttle box, a false bottom laterally extendable into' the shuttle box to replace the removable bottom, a picker normally forming one end of the shuttle box, means for raising and lowering the picker, a low filling detector mounted on the loom, and sequentially operated connections responsive to the detector for cyclically operating the picker, the feed plate, and the false bottom in timed relation to each other.

7. A loom for weaving fabrics comprising a framework, 'a lay journaled in said framework to oscillate from a front center to a back center position, a plurality of shuttles for carrying filling wefts across the lay, a first shuttle box at one end of said lay, detecting means mounted on the framework and positioned to detect the absence of filling weft in a shuttle when the lay is in a front center position, a shuttle raceway at the opposite end of the lay, a shuttle box formed from an extension of the raceway and having two sides and a top, a shuttle swell movable in one side of the shuttle box to anchor a shuttle firmly in the box, a picker forming the outboard terminus of the shuttle box, a shuttle catcher positioned beyond the picker, a shuttle magazine mounted on a framework in front of the shuttle box, a picker stick for actuating the picker to project the shuttle from one shuttle box to another, a movable platform for the picker, a movable support for the picker stick, a fluid cylinder operatively connected to the platform and the picker stick to selectively lower the picker and picker stick below the line of the shuttle raceway thus providing a clear passage into the shuttle catcher, a feed plate forming the bottom of the shuttle box, means for lowering the feed plate diagonally from the shuttle box to a position in alignment with the bottom of the shuttle magazine, a fluid cylinder for operating the feed plate, a transfer carriage movable between the bottom of the shuttle magazine and the lowered feed plate to transfer a replacement shuttle onto the feed plate, an actuating stop for the transfer carriage, an abutment on the feed plate to contact the actuating stop and operate the carriage when the feed plate is lowered and the lay approaches its front center position, guide means for positioning the shuttle snugly against the picker as the feed plate is elevated to position the replacement shuttle in the shuttle box, and cyclically controlled valves responsive to the detecting means for operating each of said fluid cylinders.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 having means for actuating the swell to release pressure 011 the shuttle and a fluid cylinder for overriding said actuating means when an exhausted shuttle is to be discharged.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 having a cutter positioned on the framework adjacent the fell of the fabric and the inboard terminus of the shuttle raceway, and means for actuating said cutter to sever a filling weft in accordance with the cyclical control means.

10. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 having a series of anchors to retain the filling tail of each shuttle in the shuttle magazine when each replacement shuttle is transferred to the shuttle box.

11. An apparatus according to claim 7 having a false bottom for the shuttle box and means for inserting the false bottom into the shuttle box when the feed plate is lowered 12. An apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which the platform for the picker is provided with an elevated table the top of which forms an extension of the shuttle raceway when the platform is lowered.

13. An apparatus in accordance with claim 7 in which the shuttle magazine is provided with a pivoting rocker arm, a series of oscillating shuttle supports alternatively retractable and advanceable into the magazine for individually depositing the bottom shuttle in the magazine on the transfer carriage when the carriage retracts.

14. An apparatus in accordance with claim 7 having a pivoted latch on the lay for removing the replacement shuttle from the transfer carriage and retaining the shuttle on the feed plate.

15. In an automatic shuttle changer for textile looms, a shuttle box assembly, a shuttle feed plate forming the 

